


Return of the Ancients

by Arthron



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Conspiracy, Gen, Mystery, Science Fiction, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 21:36:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19326574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arthron/pseuds/Arthron
Summary: Something stirs throughout the galaxy. The Delaran Empire, a space-faring nation, faces crises beyond their own imagination. As war is raged throughout known space, Captain Gibbons and the crewmates aboard the Legacy must find their own path as they realize truths that were long hidden away from them.





	1. Backwater Planet

“Jarren, do you see anything good down there?” I asked with utmost curiosity from  _ The Reverence, _ the spacecraft under my command. This planet, found hospitable by the Tribunal, would be the first planet to be colonized by our government.  _ The Reverence  _ was to evaluate the true suitability of the planet and its compatibility with life from our own.

“Yes!” Jarren exclaimed excitedly. My heart began racing, butterflies filling my stomach. “There is a whole array of life here. Flora and fauna are everywhere!”

“Really? Do they look like anything back home?”

“Ahhh--hmmm… well  _ that _ looks kinda like a crokora. Ohhhh nevermind. It's just ate an alletor-looking thingy.”

“Unbelievable!” I said, turning to Overseer Hilldale, “could you project his vision for us?”

“Of course Jenna,” Hilldale replied with a smile. “Anything for our imminent Tribune.”

“Ha--Thanks Hill,” the windows of the deck soon flickered with light and displayed a live recording from Jarren’s life support helmet. A vast array of colors soon sprang up into my vision as I intently stared at the live feed. For the most part, the planet did appear habitable. The surface was so full of life, that we would probably have to clear many of the flora here to make room to begin colonizing.

As I greedily continued to scour Jarren’s view, I saw something on the corner of my eye. Something felt off.

“Jarren, could you turn to your left again? I thought I saw something,” I asked.

“Sure thing, Jenna.”

As the display shifted to the left, the thing I saw became much more clear.

“Jarren, do you see that!?”

Hilldale gasped once he saw it as well.

“JARREN!”

“What? Is somethi--oh. Wow. Yes, I see it.”

In front of Jarren was something we never scanned. We never anticipated this. Nothing like this has even came across any of our minds. To think that a civilization had already occupied our star system… unprecedented. 

“Jarren. We need you to head to extraction immediately. I--I don’t know what to do now besides going to the Tribunal,” I said hesitantly, turning away from the monitor to the communications officer, “Send an emergency signal to the Tribunal immediately.” 

“Jenna, it’s just a bunch of ruins. I don’t know what the big probl--” 

“As the commander of  _ The Reverence _ I order you to extract from the planet.” I couldn’t let anything happen to any of my crew.

“...yes, my liege.” I heard him scuffle around uneasily. He couldn’t dare protest my command. My attention turned away from the monitor feed toward the communications officer once more.

“Your eminence, I have sent out the signal. The Tribunal wishes to establish a line between us right now.”

“Very well. Establish the transmission.”

“Yes my liege… erm… there seems to be some kind of malfunction. It feels as though we are being jammed of some sort--”

“Wait. What’s going on? What’s happening down there, Jarren? I thought I saw something near the ruins.” Hilldale asked with deep concern. Curiously, I turned back towards the display. I then gasped in horror.

“JARREN, GET OUT OF THERE NOW!”

“I… I… I can’t. I’m stuck… somehow… I don’t know what’s happening.”

Darkness flooded the display. Jarren’s screams did little to help calm my nerves. The connection to the live feed was broken.

“I haven’t even thought that was possible!” Hilldale exclaimed in shock. I turned to him.

“Hilldale, we need to reach the Tribunal immediately. We don’t know what happened to Jarren. If whatever got him knows of our existence, we need to--”

“My liege, something is leaving the planet’s surface. We can’t identify the craft or the being. It’s too unclear--”

_ The Reverence _ shook. Alarms were ringing from all corners of the cruiser. I have to do something. We have to leave.

“ _ The Reverence _ is lost to us. Evacuate the craft. We must reach the Tribunal. We have to warn--” I began, but darkness overtook me. It overtook us all.

 

\--

“These savages came too close to uncovering Old War technologies. They would have vandalized it before we could extract the necessary knowledge.”

“Understood. However, it is imperative that we are not detected by any others, lest we lose everything we’ve came for.”

“Of course. However, we’ve detected that the primitive craft managed to send an emergency signal to their homeworld. They may send over a fleet to investigate.”

“Very well. We must discretely wipe out this detestable race. Do all you can to avoid the gaze of  **that** Seer.”


	2. Battle for Ruins

The war-torn planet of Kilinar was our first destination. Leaked intelligence reports from Kumar spoke of a lost civilization and its hidden technologies. Delara alone will reach Kilinar. And our ship,  _ The Legacy, _ will be the one to do it. 

I stood upon the command deck of our battle vessel. Apparently the information leak was known to Kumar, and thus our Navy scrambled and sent us, military forces, to the planet with a hastily picked excavation team.

“Enter warp-drift!” shouted Admiral Muche, my superior, mentor, and friend. Warp-drift wasn’t the fastest method of reaching our destination, but it was the safest.

“Aye, sir,” responded one of the officers on the deck, quickly tapping away on the navigation console in front of him. As  _ The Legacy _ entered warp-drift, I knew that this expedition would be one for the records. Maybe I’d even get my name carved down in the famous Wall of Heroes. Bracing for the inevitable thrust from the ship’s engines, I saw the vast darkness of space turn into a whirl of light as we entered the drift. Although I have seen this dazzling display of starlight and space probably dozens of times on my military tours throughout the empire, I could never get used to such an enchanting view. Where I was, at the ship’s command deck, there were consoles upon consoles of controls overseeing all parts of the battlecruiser. The steel, silvery metal that furnished the interior of the deck created an organized, chromic aesthetic that I appreciated. The blue banners of Delara generously covered the unsightly dents and scratches of hasty repairs from previous battles.  _ The Legacy _ is definitely one of the best of our ships in the fleet, and its veteraned interiors spoke for that. The ship’s size was comparable to a small town, around twenty three quarpanks. 

The command deck layout was like a large amphitheater. Officers such as myself were stationed in rings around the center in order of importance from the more meager duties inward towards the essential duty consoles. The centerpoint of this quasi-amphitheater was a medium amount of space in the room, dedicated to the commanding officer. Although my legs ached from standing in place at my designated console, located in the innermost ring, I continued my duties at my console after glancing out of the secured windows of the deck, which were positioned so that the centermost part of the room was able to see outwards into space quite clearly. Simply bored, as my duties on the console were not needed during warp-drift, I quickly briefed myself on some of the info on our research group we managed to get together. Swiping through each profile of the excavation team on my screen, I could see that this was a panicked scramble. The scientists that we snagged were newbies at best. Some seemed to only have recently graduated from an academy without any further research experience. They were probably the ones who had the most time on their hands, and thus were the first ones sent to the initial expedition with us. I continued swiping through the profiles, reading each one with little interest before going to recon with some of the personnel. I detest the inefficiencies of Delaran bureaucracies. The Admiral, I imagine, was the catalyst for my growing disdain for the empire’s countless courts.

After a couple of hours, I overheard an officer, “We are in the Kilinar system, Admiral Muche. Should we exit warp-drift?”

“No, not yet. Maintain course. How much longer until we are directly over the planet?” the Admiral replied. I looked over to him in the middle of the room. His hands were behind his back, maintaining a very controlled and calculated presence in the center of the deck. His black attire, laden with medals and honors, made his aura even more intimidating than it already was. His face showed wrinkles with his age. A small scar across his lips, thick eyebrows, and almost always scowling eyes made him seem unapproachable. His body was tall, muscular, and proud, allowing him to stand above most Delarans with ease. His long hair was a conflict between strands of stark whites and jet blacks, mixing within the long swirl of his ponytail. Even with his countless missions, operations, and tours in service to Delara, he has yet to get his name ingrained into the Wall of Heroes, to my unending bewilderment.

“About another minute, sir,” replied the officer, much more timid than before.

“We exit the drift once we’re over the planet,” he huffed.

“Acknowledged.” The humming of the warp-drift engines soothed my excitement for what mysteries were to come. Without muttering a single word, I could feel the whole crew on board fidgeting with excitement, just as I was. The hum of the engines soon began to emit a louder, thudding sound. The ship shook rather violently, much more than I normally felt once exiting the drift.

As  _ The Legacy _ came to a halt over Kilinar, we couldn’t believe what we saw through the windows of the deck. After the normal adjustment of our eyes from experiencing the light of the drift back into the darkness of space, we saw uncanny explosions and blasts of light. Battles upon battles between multiple forces were ensuing around us. We recognized some of the fleets in the battle, but others were a complete myster. Colors and streaks of reds, blues, silvers, and blacks in the aimlessly wandering debris meshed in the destruction of battleships. Streaks of munitions, from missiles to energy beams, flew and scattered between the various fleets. I grasped the handles of my console, slightly unprepared for such an encounter. The briefings the  _ Legacy _ had been given no such implication of immediate confrontation upon arrival.

Before I could think more on the subject, Admiral Muche shouted, “How is it that all these factions know of Kilinar’s value? Do they know of the ruins?” in astonishment.

“Admiral, apparently Capital says our spies took the leaked info from the Kumarins, yet they were told it was top secret information,” replied a lieutenant hastily near the head console. She was swiping through her console in a panic, as its screen flashed emergency procedures repeatedly. This was probably the first military combat encounter that she has ever experienced.

“Then how is this possible? Why are ALL these people battling for Kilinar? All that’s on this trash-planet, besides the ruins, is ash, last time I remember it! Send for our navy. If we are to get our researchers onto the planet’s surface we need to---”

“Admiral, another ship is targeting us,” shouted the head console lieutenant.

“Quickly! Activate shields and get our weapons teams ready!”

“Yes, Admiral!”

“And request reinforcements from the Navy! Immediately!”

“Of course. We’ll notify communications immed--”

“Admiral! They’re firing their weapons at us!” another officer shouted, interrupting the lieutenant.

“EVERYONE AT YOUR STATIONS! Do NOT let  _ The Legacy _ fall!” Admiral Muche shouted in a hasty, yet controlled manner before turning to me, “Captain Gibbons, I need you to get to Communications immediately! For some reason, we can't reach them from here. Warn the Navy!”

“Aye!” I shout, already turning away from my console, towards the command deck’s exit. I have to hurry. 

_ The Legacy  _ shook. Screams echoed from the hall outside. Although my service onboard this ship has seen plenty of space battles, I still found it difficult to balance my footing during engagements like this.

As I went further down to the main part of the ship, I continued to hear blasts and explosions, as the ship continued to rattle and shake. Hesitantly, I went further down, going to Engineering. The whole room was in flames. Blasts from the enemy’s first volley had penetrated  _ The Legacy’s _ hull. Chromic bits of the ship were chaotically strewn across the hallway and in space. Some bodies of our personnel were skewered by the shrapnel from the hull, blood soaking parts of the walls. Despite the horror, our crew yet managed to seal the exposed parts of the hull before the whole department was sucked out into the vacuum of space. As a soldier, I’ve grown used to the toll of life during conflict, but I still couldn’t help but shudder and hope that my friends aboard were alright.

“Gibbons! I’m glad to see you here! This exchanged fire is definitely giving our crewmembers a hell of a beating! Hey! You! Give Cylin some help with moving the rubble!” shouted Engineer Wilsworth to a frantic worker. Wilsworth is one of my closest friends. His frizzy, dirty blonde hair seemed covered in greases and oils. To my relief, his freckled face wasn’t covered in blood and showed no signs of pain. The chaos of the firefight didn’t get to him just yet. In a daze, I reach up to bring order to his chaotically-strewn hair, but I failed to reach his head before he grabs my hand with a curious face, one of his eyebrows raised. He was a few inches taller than I was, but I usually was able to tidy up his hair before he could snatch me. I quickly snagged my hand away after a struggle and looked away before asking him about the situation.

“Wilsworth! Do we know if Communications is alright?”

“Eh, I know they got hit hard by the first volley, but they should be stabilized by now. I sent some of my engineering crewmembers to go help ‘em.” Wilsworth absentmindedly reaches up to fix his own hair. I give him a half-nod in acknowledgement.

“Sounds good! I’m heading there right now.”

“Alright! Good luck making it there! It’d be a shame to see a captain blown up!” joked Wilsworth, with a hearty smile on his face. Everything about his demeanor appeared fine, but knowing him, it was all a facade to keep morale high. I feel that inside, he must be screaming out in agony, seeing his fellow engineers getting skewered by hull and weapon shrapnel.

“Hey now, you better watch out yourself!” I winked back at him, heading towards the Communications room. Although I was relieved beyond belief that he didn’t get hurt during the initial exchange of fire, I couldn’t help but worry about his well being if more hits were to penetrate the ship’s hull, but I have no time to waste here. I cannot believe I spent that much time already, just talking to him. I started to pick up the pace into a run.  _ The Legacy _ shook as more enemy ammunition made impact with the ship’s hull, bypassing most of our protective shields. I could hear screaming coming from all parts of the ship. I tried to shut out the sound, and shuddered when I thought of what must be happening throughout the ship. Finally making it to the final corridor in the hallway to Communications, I sprinted to the door, nearly kicking it down with the adrenaline rushing through my body. I almost ran over Head Officer Lityra in my rush.

“Officer Lityra, Admiral Muche demands we reach the Navy immediately. We need reinforcements.”

“That’s what it seemed like. I just needed confirmation, Captain” Lityra said gladly, going to the main communications array. I take a look around the station. There were definitely damages endured from the initial barrage, but it seemed like everything was still functional. Of course, casualties were expected but I couldn’t stand the sight of blood painted across the walls.

“This is Head Officer of Communications, Lityra on board  _ The Legacy _ . We’ve reached Kilinar, but have come across multiple hostiles. Admiral Muche is requesting immediate reinforcements from the Navy. Repeat, Admiral Muche is requesting immediate reinforcements from the Navy. We are under attack. Priority E,” Lityra shouted into the array. While she was most likely shaken by the loss of some of her personnel, this was not her first combat encounter, and her voice remained clear and calm.

“Roger that, Officer Lityra. Approximately how many hostiles are in the vicinity? More information is required so that sufficient reinforcements can be sent,” responded the Naval officer.

“There are approximately five full war-fleets, belonging to the Kumarins, Trinilarians, and three other unidentified xenos civilizations. We do not know their intentions over fighting for this planet, but one of the unidentified vessels has deemed us hostile and has commenced firing towards the  _ Legacy _ . We are exchanging blows at this very moment.”

“Understood. We are sending War-Fleet Jimly to reinforce our interest on Kilinar. It will be a few minutes to have the fleet fully prepared and arrive at your location.”

“Roger that. Officer Lityra out.” Turning back to me, Lityra said, “Reinforcements en route. You may inform Admiral Muche that we will be receiving War-Fleet Jimly.”

“Of course, Officer Lityra,” I said with a sigh of relief, running back towards the command deck. I quickly ran through the same way as I came, tracing my way back to the ship. My task as messenger is important, but it breaks my heart to see so many of our crew being killed on duty. I did not stop again to check on Wilsworth, despite the conditions being worse compared to what I saw moments before.

“Admiral, we’ve sent word to the Navy. They’re… they are sending War-Fleet Jimly,” I spoke, slightly out of breath. I was fit, but the trek from Communications and back still took a toll on my body.

“Ah, good. War-Fleet Jimly will take care of these savage aliens. It even seems like we’re already beating this unidentified craft with  _ The Legacy _ . I guess she is a naval flagship after all, though.”

The chaos of the battle around us seemed to calm. The deck itself seemed untouched by the conflict. After re-entering the command deck, it looked like most of the enemy fleets had destroyed each other before noticing us. There were some remaining Kumarin ships, but they were too damaged to really be a threat. After but a moment looking around the deck, I saw the great Delaran War-Fleet, Jimly, enter the planet’s boundaries, laying waste to the remaining hostile fleets.

“Hah! Behold the power of the great fleets of Delara! This is what happens to those who oppose us!” Admiral Muche triumphantly shouted, probably trying to re-establish morale for the crew. “Now,” the Admiral said, turning to me, “gather the research team and get them down to Kilinar.”

“Yes, sir!” I said, already beginning to retrace my steps to Engineering. I was glad the fighting between all the alien fleets had made things much easier for us to establish a presence for ourselves here.

“Wilsworth! Come with me!” It seems that I came in to the room too late to be able to help, as I quickly scanned the room. My trip to and from this room wasn’t that long ago, yet the condition was significantly worse. Shrapnel and rubble covered more of Engineering than it had before. Bodies of our crewmen were beginning to be dragged towards the far end of the station, to avoid spreading the smell of death further.

“Um, sure, Gibbons. What’s going on?” Wilsworth asked turning to face me. He was crouching with a few others, examining a fellow crewwoman. She looked hurt, but she was breathing. Wilsworth stood up and looked at me with a dark expression. He was a veteran himself, but he always hurt when losing someone he worked with, and it was showing.

“We’re going to go treasure hunting,” I announced with a smirk, trying to cheer up his mood.

“Oh! Finally some good news!” Wilsworth replied with an amused expression. It was a dark atmosphere around us, but he remained strong despite it.

“Get the rest of the team prepared, Wilsworth! We have no time to lose!” I said impatiently. I didn’t want him to mourn anymore than necessary, and in order for that to happen, I had to get him away from all this death.

"On it," grunted Wilsworth. "We’ll be ready soon." He headed out to the exit that I entered from. As he left for the Science room, I went to the hangar to prepare a landing craft.

“Aye! Cap’n Gibbons!” shouted Mechanic Bill, Wilsworth’s cousin. His grease-stained shirt was also covered in ash, probably from the skirmish we just had with the enemy ship. However, the hangar bay itself seemed fairly untouched. “What can I do for ‘ya, Cap’s?”

“Mister Bill Tolaski,” I started, reluctant to talk to the goofball, “can I get a landing craft ready to get to Kilinar?”

“Sure thang, Cap’s, as long as I tag along,” Bill said with a wink. He wasn’t kidding. I knew Bill’s stubbornness wouldn’t allow us to leave with the landing craft without him. I looked around to see if there were any other available mechanics for me to talk to, but it looked like Bill was the only one here who wasn’t either dead or desperately trying to repair something.

“Fine, but make sure it’s perfect for Kilinar’s conditions.” I didn’t expect him to raise a single finger to making that happen, but I wanted to try to convey the importance of this expedition to him.

“Of course, of course, Cap’n Gibs! You can count on me.”

“Good! The team will be here in about another minute or two,” I said with a shrug, knowing this would get Bill to stop chatting and get to work.

“I’ll fix Sally up real quick then!” Bill said, already skipping to the craft.

Once Bill had finished fixing up the ship, the team: Wilsworth, Bill, and I, along with a couple members from the Delaran Science Community and five armed escort crewmembers, went on the landing craft and left for Kilinar’s surface.

The wreckage from the conflict was scattered enough for us to navigate through towards the surface of the planet with little to note. As we entered the atmosphere and could see the surface more clearly, we realized Kilinar had cultivated its own natural environment after a reported war had turned the planet’s surface to ash only a century before. Thick with life, it was hard to find a good landing site, but we managed.

“I believe we’ve landed quite near our destination,” said Bill.

“I can’t believe these ruins are still standing!” Wilsworth said with awe. I was a little taken aback. I suppose I had drifted off into thought, as I couldn’t recall seeing the ruins from the sky. I didn’t want to come off as unobservant, so I stayed quiet about it, while the others continued to ramble and theorize what the ruins could have.

As we landed on the planet’s surface, one of the scientists pointed out that we didn’t need our heavy bio-suits equipt, citing that the environment should be able to sustain our necessary biological needs without them. Already taking them off, Wilsworth took a deep breath of the Kilinarian air, and then exhaled.

“Wow! This air is great!” exclaimed Wilsworth, “It’s so…  _ pure _ .” Following his lead, the rest of the party unequipped their bio-suits. Wilsworth was right, the air here was different. It was crisp, much cleaner than it was back at home. The environment surrounding us seemed so serene. Life thrived here. Every imaginable shade of color could be found in this jungle-like environment. As we trudged through the thick vegetation, we saw the ruins. The structure’s brazen white color contrasted with the thick green vegetation surrounding it sharply, yet somehow naturally. The alien ruin--or structure - was enormous, as Wilsworth had pointed out earlier. I couldn’t believe I didn’t notice it on our descent. The structure towered above even the canopies of the jungle, piercing the clouds and sky with elegance. If we weren’t informed of it being a ruin, we would have thought it was still currently in use, as its structural integrity was unquestionably well-kept.

“Shall we make our approach?” I asked, turning to the party.

“Naturally” said Wilsworth, clasping his hands together eagerly, and the rest of the crew muttered in agreement.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________

“My lady, the old structure on Kilinar has emitted an intruder signal.”

“Interesting. That’s what the mortals are here for. It is a shame they had to slaughter each other to reach that old station.”

“Indeed my Lady. Should we take any action yet?”

“No. It is unnecessary at this time. These mundane beings will not be able to uncover or discern the technologies. It is a shame the post was abandoned after the war. Perhaps it will be reclaimed someday.”

“Yes my lady.”


	3. Inside

Once we entered the “ruin” structure, I didn’t expect the interior to be so well maintained. The ruins had a very regal, graceful, and sophisticated appearance, with highlights and tints of gold embedded into both the interior and exterior of the structure. I was awe-struck. Rich, crimson colors were present and made an elegant and gorgeous contrast with the creamy, pure white of the marble-like structure. The integrity of the structure and interior was so well kept that it was impossible to imagine that this structure wasn’t abandoned just an hour ago. Interior waterfalls decorated the walls, the water pouring into streams flowing on the edges of the rooms, next to the walkways and hallways and then out of the very building. Exotic looking flora brought vibrant life into the ruins, still growing from their well-maintained pots. In some parts of the structure, there were even interior gardens, with trees bearing beautiful yet strange fruit and flowers adorning lively colors. The strong, flourishing green colors in the center of some rooms only flowed more gracefully with the stark whites, golds, and crimsons of the interior wall aesthetic. From the looks of the structure, I would never have guessed it to be ruins.

“Wait, isn’t this place supposed to pre-date even the Delaran empire? We’ve even been around for forever too! How could this place be in top-shape while there’s nothing left of the old Tribunal, which was destroyed, only ten years ago?” asked Wilsworth.

“Well obviously the thing that destroyed the Tribunal’s empire didn’t intend for survivors, not a single one on their homeworld survived. I’m guessing these ruins were just abandoned nonviolently” I said, turning around to once again analyze the lively environment within the structure. The whole ambiance of the complex was serene. It seemed even that light itself was twisted and manipulated within the structure in a beautiful yet haunting way. Perhaps that, along with the waterfalls emerging from the walls, was what was maintaining such life from the flora. 

“Looking from within the ruin, it seems like everything is intact. To me, everything is capable of being fully operational,” evaluated Wilsworth, showing off his engineering prowess with a smirk while looking professional with all of his equipment, “The intel didn’t disappoint, but… this technology... it’s impossible to understand. It’s so advanced. In fact, this stuff should be impossible, according to all our current rules and theories of physics and the universe. It makes our ‘pinnacle of achievement, ‘the warp drift,’ look like a joke, something that maybe was put together by a tribal society.” The accompanying scientists nodded in agreement.

“Huh, that’s funny. How old do you think this place is?” I asked, continuing to explore the ruins, leading me into a vast hallway, with the calming streams of water on either side of me..

Close behind, Wilsworth coughed and said, “Hm… I’m not sure. The initial dating information that we had received from the Science Community in Delara, though, seemed to hint at its age being at least as old as our planet’s. But that must be impossible. This place looks like it hasn’t even been abandoned for a day. The real mystery to me is, where did all of these advanced beings go?”

“That’s true. If these people were really as advanced as you say, Wilsworth, making our tech look like a joke, then what could have made them disappear?”

“No idea. Maybe we can find some clues on what happened when we get deeper in.”

As we ventured further into the ruin, there was no need for additional light. The light within lit the room as if we were outside during the day. It was astonishing to witness such precise manipulation of light. We entered a large hall, which maybe would have been used as a meeting area. A large fountain was in the center, pouring water in four adjacent directions, which led to the streams to the edges near the walls. The fountain was comprised of three standing statue figures. Two males and a female between them. They seemed to appear exactly like us, the Delaran race. The only differences were that the figures all had braided long hair (which most of us in the military are not allowed to have--yet somehow the Admiral could pull it off), the figures had no facial hair and also had pointed ears. They had thin and lean builds. Together they seemed to be holding a bowl or something of that matter, which was where the water was pouring from. Surrounding the fountain were levitating chairs and tables along with other assorting furniture I couldn’t identify.

“This place is beyond scientific understanding… venturing even into the realm of fantasy and magic. That’s how hard it is to understand this place’s stuff,” began Wilsworth, closely examining the fountain, “The water from this fountain… I don’t know where it’s originating from. There’s nothing to redraw the water back into the fountain. The water just travels on to the sides of the room and then into the hall, where it’ll exit the building and just become a waterfall, pouring life into the environment. Huh.”

“Indeed, everything here doesn’t really make much sense to us,” started one of the accompanying scientists, “the levitating chairs, tables, and other devices we have yet to identify uses for, do not come up in our anti-gravity-tech scanners. Whoever inhabited this place knows of extreme energy manipulation. Nothing we could hope to understand… yet.”

“We haven’t even started about the statues! How is it that our two races, assuming that these statues resemble the owners of the ruins, look so alike? Besides some minor differences, we look so similar!” asserted Wilsworth. The scientists then turned towards the statues and nodded in approval with scrunched, scowling faces.

“Interesting. Is there anything we actually understand of this ruin’s tech that we can bring back aboard  _ The Legacy _ ?” I asked.

“Besides guessing the most basic of functions, for some of these items--sitting or setting things, for example--I really have no clue what some of these things are actually for. Like that,” Wilsworth said, point towards a hovering object maybe three or four meters away from us, “I have no idea what that thing does. Unless the owners of these ruins just liked levitating random, useless objects, I don’t see why they’d levitate that.”

“Maybe if we shoot at it, it’ll do something!” impatiently began one of the soldiers, “all we’ve been doing in here, for four long hours, is look at some shiny-floating thingies!” I didn’t realize all the time that had passed, but looking at my watch, he was right. Before I could stop him, he aimed his battle-rifle at the object and fired several bursts of laser fire at it. Interestingly, the object--or whatever it is--used the laser fire to create a protective force field around itself along with the accompanying hovering chairs and tables in the vicinity.

“WOAH, WHAT?!” Wilsworth exclaimed, “these objects can manipulate energy so quickly, it can turn deadly, hostile fire to form a protective energy barrier?” Many of the scientists were also shocked in disbelief.

“Hmph. I wonder if we tried something more powerful…” said the rebellious soldier, pulling out a heavy-fire precision laser weapon, capable of destroying heavily armored vehicles. 

“Soldier! Stop! We don’t know if---” I began, when the soldier fired his heavy weapon. The blast knocked us all off our feet. However, once I got up, I noticed the object along with the chairs and tables were untouched, with a heavier force-field surrounding it.

“Ha! Imagine if this simple-looking object could do THAT, then I wonder what war was like to these beings!” Wilsworth said, full of awe.

“Perhaps if we attacked with physical ammunition…” mumbled one of the scientists, before the soldier interrupted, “Say no more!” The soldier grinned in delight, to be able to use all of his “toys” inside this invaluable ruin. Beginning to pull out a heavy missile launcher, able to destroy buildings of large sizes, his hand was quickly slapped off of the weapon by myself. 

“What do you think you’re doing, soldier!? The very reason you came with us here is to protect us, not to kill us!” I yelled. Features of guilt quickly appeared on his face.

“I’m...I’m sorry Captain Gibbons… I was carried away.”

“Indeed you were. Now put away that weapon before it blows us all off of the face of the planet!”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Good, now, is there anything we can bring back onboard  _ Legacy _ ? The soldier is right. We’ve been here for a while without much progress.”

“Hm. I don’t know. I’m not sure if we should take anything just yet. Not until we know if things are actually unnecessary to the infrastructure or integrity of the ruin,” answered Wilsworth.

“Very well. Let’s not take any risks. Scientists, you have your reports ready for the Science Community?” The scientists look at each other and then nodded back. “Then let’s get back to  _ The Legacy _ . Maybe we’ll be able to bring a larger, more long-term research team down here next time,” I finished.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________

“As you have foreseen, the mortals have left with little clue on how the technology works.”

“Good. We should take precaution and phase the structure out of Kilinar, however. The mortals may return. Perhaps with a more ‘capable’ group.”

“That wouldn’t be expected, but it is a wise decision.”

“Have the structure moved to another, preferably barren, planet. Perhaps it may help foster life there.”

“As you command.”


	4. Journey Home

The ride back to the flagship was full of lively debate between the crewmen, trying to theorize over the existence of the peculiar structure. I tried to stay out of it, preferring to just reflect in my mind on what I just saw. When we returned, many aboard The Legacy gave looks of disappointment that we didn’t bring anything back aboard or that we didn’t understand the ruin’s technological achievements. The way Wilsworth described our journey into the ruin, though, made many more crew members envious of the journey. Admiral Muche pulled me aside.

“Captain Gibbons, you’re telling me that this planet is thriving with life, even though the planet was blasted to ash not a century ago?” he asked with wonderment and furrowed eyebrows. 

“That’s correct, sir,” I responded, still in disbelief of the planet and the pristine structure there. Admiral Muche seemed very surprised, but pressed on with questioning me.

“You’re also telling me that these bureaucrat-scientists were too afraid to take a sample of this old alien tech?”

“We felt it safest to leave things be as it was until we could deem things unnecessary to the infrastructure and integrity of the ruin, and then take those samples back.”

“Ugh! So you want another expedition down to Kilinar? That means we’ll have to maintain control over the planet! Did you see how many people were willing to kill for Kilinar earlier?!”

“Yes, sir. Doesn’t that also mean we should not allow those hostiles access to the ruins, in case they unlock or decipher something we did not and then use those findings against us?”

“Hm. You got a point there, Gibbons. First, we should head back to Capital so you and your scientist friends can report your findings,” the Admiral muttered with some finality. He hated to be corrected.

“Sure, Admiral.”  
Turning to face the officers on the command deck, Admiral Muche announced, “We’re going back home, boys! Prepare for Warp-Drift back to Capital!”

“Yes, Admiral!” the entire personnel responded.  
As The Legacy entered warp-drift, I felt a little anxious. I haven’t been in Delara (also known as Capital) for quite some time. I think it’s been around ten years now. I imagine what must have changed since I’ve last been there. Perhaps the small shop next to my childhood home would have expanded or gone out of business by now. Maybe the Palace of Jimlia would have been fully repaired after a terrible riot had vandalized it when I was there last, but I shouldn’t dwell on my broken past now. As I was reminiscing and imagining how Capital would have changed, an officer addressed Admiral Muche.

“Admiral, we are now entering official Delaran Empire Territory.”

“Very good. Everything is still in order for our arrival to Capital?”

“Yes, sir.”  
A couple more hours had passed on our return trip back to Capital. Nothing much was happening on the command deck, so I dismissed myself to talk to Wilsworth in Engineering. Once I got there, I found he was in deep conversation with the scientists who were with us on Kilinar.

“No, I would NEVER have authorized it. Gibbons was right to stop him,” I overheard Wilsworth say. Hearing them gossip about me, I staggered a bit before silently hiding in the adjacent hall, still within listening distance to the conversation at hand.

“But what if the object could defend itself from physical projectiles as well? Maybe we wouldn’t have been blown to bits,” theorized a scientist.

“I wouldn’t risk it. Not with all of us there and in such a valuable structure. Perhaps if we extracted the object to a safer location without tampering with the ruins, then we could test the object’s full capabilities,” voiced Wilsworth, continuing his staunch support over my executive decision.

“Agreed,” another scientist chimed in, “it would have been too brash to use such heavy weapons inside a ruin.” As the chat in the group started to diminish, I made my entrance. Obviously Wilsworth would notice me first.

“Well if it isn’t Captain Gibbons! Glad you’re here! We were just talking about you!” Wilsworth greeted and grinned. I managed a small smile back to him.

“Good to know, Wilsworth! Are you ready to report your findings to the Community?” I asked, turning towards the group of scientists.  
The cluster gave a look of worry amongst themselves, but quickly answered, “Yes Captain, of course. We wouldn’t be scientists of Delara if we withheld information from the Community.”

“But there was one thing we were worried about,” started one of the scientists, before getting jabbed in the stomach by an elbow of another scientist. This group definitely wasn’t the most professional. We probably should have tried a little harder to find a more capable team.

“Well, what is it?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh it was nothing, Captain,” the scientist responded, “just a few scientific concerns. Nothing major.” I could tell he was lying. He was doing his best to avoid any kind of eye contact with me.

“Spit it out, scientist, before I have you reported to High Command for your deception.”

“Uh… uh,” the scientist stuttered, looking at his fellows for aid. They only gave him stern looks, but nodded to him. “Erm… There IS a problem. You see, we have just had another scan of Kilinar with our long-range radar, and it seems as though the ruin doesn’t exist there anymore.”

“What?!” Wilsworth and I exclaimed simultaneously.

“Yes, well, before our scan, we were contacted by the Community, which told us that after our departure--once we entered Warp-Drift--there was a large energy reading coming from Kilinar’s surface. Once we did our scan, we were all baffled. Either another civilization had just covertly blown the ruin to bits, or the ruin just disappeared-- like a mirage.”

“Soooooooo... that means no more expeditions to Kilinar then, huh?” Wilsworth intrigued.

“I suppose so. At least until we have confirmation of the ruin’s destruction or random disappearance, I think it would be too dangerous to send another expedition.”

“But the ruin’s tech was invaluable! We could have learned so much from that structure! We could have advanced further than any civilization we know that exists today!” Wilsworth stated his disappointment, flinging his arms around in despair.

“Perhaps, but now it’s totally lost to us,” a scientist sadly stated, looking away from the group. I couldn’t believe it. Maybe the Kumarins somehow realized our spies got their intel and decided that it would be too risky to leave the ruins be, so they blew it up. I was distraught. I looked over to Wilsworth and the scientists and it looked like they were just told they had received a death sentence. Before we could mourn longer for the ruin, the announcer’s voice rang across The Legacy.

“All crew members: we have successfully reached Capital! We will begin descent shortly! All crew members must be at their stations immediately for reporting in. Repeat: all crew members must be at their stations to report in.”

“I should go,” I told the group, already getting up and turning towards the hall that led back to the command deck, “See you all in Capital!”

“Hey! Don’t leave this ship without me, yeah?” Wilsworth shouted at me, as I was already heading down the hall. I raised my hand to acknowledge him, but didn’t look back to see his face.   
We’re going back home. I still couldn’t believe it has been ten years.


	5. Interlude--A Return of Darkness

Ainathiel Seredhiel was surrounded. She was being questioned, interrogated, and even doubted upon; holograms of the Councils of Dawn, the Phoenix, the Unicorn, and the Dragon encircled her. The Seer Council was not present, to the bewilderment of some. The Guardian Covenant was silent--in the background--of the meeting. 

“Ainathiel, how is it that you’ve discovered this information?”

“I was recovering some of The War wreckage to see if we could salvage any lost technologies when…” Ainathiel paused, horrified to recount the event, “when one of the items from the wreckage gave off a signal. A warning signal. I knew this wasn’t a Celestial, because they’re all accounted for in the Vault, so I knew it was them. I don’t know how they’ve managed to recover, but they’re on the move. There was a similar signal that was apparently recorded by the item, an Auger, not ten cycles ago as well.”

“If your findings are correct, we must prepare for the worst. Perhaps we should phase your outpost into another galaxy for safety, or--” started a Councilor of the Dragon.

“Ha! Like that would stop them!” interrupted a Phoenix Councilor, “they won’t stop until they finally get what they want! What we should do is recover all our Old War technologies, and quickly! Perhaps we can regain them before--”

“You’re a fool to believe the Old War weapons would bring salvation!” shouted a Unicorn Councilor, “those weapons only brought ruin and destruction. We had to do what we must to defend all life at that time, but perhaps there is still time to prevent this current crisis!” The three councils bickered further, arguing with one another over a solution.

“Enough!” shouted a Councilor of Dawn, all other councilors becoming silent, “we do not yet know if it is true that our enemy has resurfaced, but we must be prepared. I favor the approach of the Phoenix. Even though these weapons may end up causing more calamity, we should still have the option to use them!”

“You’re all fools! Don’t you see? We say that we defend and protect all life: whatever was left behind by the Celestials and others, yet we look on, pretending that the return of our enemy would only affect us! We should reveal our presence and existence to the other beings of this plane and allow them to also fend for themselves! Only then could we possibly have the advantage over the enemy. Both sides in this conflict lack sufficient numbers, yet we know they could open a rift into Helinar and unleash the shame of our race upon us. What would our side do in retaliation? We would be outnumbered and overwhelmed.” Ainathiel objected, to the shock of the whole summit.

“Ainathiel! You have no authority to address this summit!” argued a Phoenix Councilor, standing up in protest.

“On the contrary, I do. I was the apprentice of Arthron Silverflame, greatest of our kind and visionary for our people. In fact, I am the leading member of the Seer Council, sent to this dimension to prevent a coming calamity!”

“You… you cannot possibly be her! Why have you been inactive for so long? We assumed that Ainathiel was dead, and that you used her name as an agent name,” inquired a Councilor of the Dawn.

“I have had visions. Visions that led me here, to this realm of existence. With the Seer Council’s clearance, I teleported here. I am sorry I have been gone, but I had entrusted the leadership of our people to your councils, and the guidance and protection for our people to the Seers and the Guardians. I clearly was mistaken by entrusting the leadership with you. You do nothing but sit atop the summit of power of our people and bicker!” Ainathiel lectured with disgust.

“Forgive us, Ainathiel. We have lost our way,” muttered a Unicorn Councilor, holding back tears of shame. The whole of the Unicorn and Dragon Councils nodded sorrowfully.

“Nonsense! We have kept our people safe and secure, while you have been fooling around in other realms, Ainathiel!” shouted a Phoenix Councilor. The Phoenix and Dawn Councils began muttering among themselves.

“When I return to Arthandar, I shall see what must be done,” stated Ainathiel threateningly and with authority.

“Ainathiel, you may have been the apprentice of our leader of old, but you are not his heir. Only The Three may govern us, as individuals, per our laws. Have you forgotten this?” stated a Dawn Councilor.

“I have not, but I wish to reshape this rotting government before we entirely collapse!”

“With you at its head? We shall not allow this to pass. If you wish for greater influence amongst our people, then you should not have left so soon. That is the fault of yourself,” a Phoenix Councilor retorted.

“Indeed. We cannot allow you to usurp power so quickly and so greedily,” began a Dawn Councilor, “Our whole system would collapse, and only chaos would ensue.”

“Ha, both of your councils, Phoenix and Dawn, would not even allow the last of the Three, Thesia, to reinstate herself as the sole leader of our people, if she returned,” Ainathiel countered.

“We shall debate your fate when you return to Arthandar. We, however, appreciate the information you have shared with us,” said the overseer of the summit, the Light of the Dawn, leader of the Council of Dawn.

“If we do not act now, nothing will be done! We must reach an agreement to action before--” Ainathiel was cut off. The holograms disappeared and she was standing alone in the chamber halls of the outpost. One of her agents, however, quickly approached her.

“We have phased the Kilinar outpost to another location. It is now on the barren moon of Ishir.”

“Very well. Prepare the factories here for production.”

“My lady, what would you want to from the factories? The factories here are only meant to produce war materials and war machines.”

“Precisely,” stated Ainathiel, with a grim expression on her face, “A storm is coming.” Walking to the observation panel, Ainathiel muttered, “A storm that we cannot hope to fight alone.”

“You mean, we would need the mortals to aid us? That is preposterous! We have hidden ourselves away from them for a reason! All they enjoy is violence, savagery, and hedonism along with their other perverse pleasures.”

“Perhaps they may enjoy themselves further with this encroaching darkness, then. Just as we needed Humanity to oust the Celestials, we need all beings in this realm to aid us against the ferocity that will come.”

“You are hiding something. What is this storm or ferocity you speak of? It cannot be the--oh no. It must not be them. Anything but them.”

“Oh, but it is,” Ainathiel sighed.

“How have they recovered so quickly? Our people have not even began to--”

“I know. And I do not know how they have reemerged so swiftly. They utilize everything, however. That may be how.”

“I shall prepare the factories, as you have commanded, my lady. If what you speak of is coming, then we will need everything to even hold them here, in this dimension.”

“Indeed. Send out recovery drones to find any lost Old War technologies as well.”

“Yes, my lady.”


	6. Death of a Star

“Sir, there is an unidentified object heading towards our system. The direction seems planned, so there must be sentient beings behind this. What should we do?”

“What do you mean by planned? What course are they taking?”

“They seem to be heading straight for our sun.”

 

“That’s suicidal. What could anything possibly want from a star? The sun would reduce whatever they sent into ash.”

“Indeed, sir. We are now getting more detailed scans of the object. It seems to resemble a craft.”

“So there must be pilots on the craft, no?”

“Yes. I would imagine so, sir.”

“Then what are these things doing? They’re going to crash into our sun?”

“That is what it appears to be. The direction and path they are taking leads to a crash course into the sun.”

“Have we sent warnings?”

“We have attempted communication. It seemed like they were receiving our transmissions, but did not respond.”

“Huh. Are there any particularly valuable materials they could gather around the star?”

“No, I don’t believe so.”

“Sent over a fleet to intercept them. I want full communication with them. Send them pronto.”

“Yes sir. Fleet has been notified of interception request. They are on their way now.”

“Good. Make sure these aliens do not reach the star. I don’t have a good feeling about their intentions.”

“Sir, we are getting strange readings.”

“What do you mean?”

“The craft. It just disappeared and then reappeared within dangerous exposure to the star’s heat, yet it isn’t receiving any damage.”

“What? How is that possible?”

“Sir, it looks like these beings are siphoning the energy from our sun!”

“Impossible! Tell the fleet to fire once they’re in range of this alien craft.”

“They have already initiated the attack sequence.”

“Good. These foolish xenos will not get what they want. Not today. Today, they will be blown away by the might of our navy.”

“Sir. The fleet has fired all of its arsenal at the craft, it seems like--wait--that can’t be!”

“What is it, sergeant?”

“The alien craft hasn’t been only siphoning our sun’s energy! They were creating a black hole from it.”

“How? How can such a thing be possible in but a few moments?”

“I--I don’t know. Sir, the fleet is no longer responding. Scans are coming in. It looks like our sun has truly turned into a black hole.”

“Issue an emergency evacuation! We need to get everyone out before--”

“Sir. I’m afraid we won’t have the time. The black hole will absorb everything in the system in a few minutes.”

“We have to leave the system and warn others, then! Initiate warp jump!”

“Even if we attempted warp jump, sir, we wouldn’t be able to outrun the pull of the Black Hole. The pull from this particular subject is especially powerful.”

“Then what are we supposed to do, Sergeant?”

“I suppose we can’t do anything. We are sitting ducks, waiting to be devoured.”

“Get some sense into yourself! We… we can escape, still! INITIATE WARP JUMP!”

“It’s been an honor serving you, Captain.”

“Sergeant! I’m not done issuing orders! I said to initiate the jump.”

“Captain. It’s here.”

“Already? How can---”

______________________________________________________________________________ 

“My lady. The relic. It has emitted another, similar signal.”

“Another signal already? How can this be?”

“I do not know. We have intercepted communications originating from that location. It seems like the mortals attempted to communicate with the enemy craft, but were ignored. The enemy, however, were said to have been harvesting energy from the mortals’ star before imploding it.”

“So they do still need energy. This means we may still be able to stop them.”

“Perhaps, but how are we to intercept all of their attempts at siphoning energy?”

“That is what we must discern immediately. We may still be able to stop them.”


	7. The Sanctuary of Delara

Delara, our glorious capital, homeworld, and center of our great empire. It was marvelous to behold. Towers, both tall and wide, reached into the heavens from the surface, which was yet invisible from where The Legacy was descending. These grey spires covered most of the surface of the planet. An icon of industry, most of Delara’s land was cultivated for manufacturing and production of our most esteemed capital ships. Delara is only beginning to reach its golden age, from what I was taught. A beacon of proud history and culture, Delara was accounted as one of the first to nourish a space-faring race, unless you believed in myths or some of the stranger religions. Trillions of Delarans lived on the planet. Supported entirely from interplanetary trade from our other planetary colonies, Delara is now dependent on shipments of food and drinkable liquids to sustain the population. Miraculously surviving the countless wars waged amongst ourselves before our unilateral venture into the beyond, Delara maintained a survivable atmosphere. I couldn’t have been prouder to call this planet my home.

As the Legacy continued to descend onto the planet’s surface, I could begin to make out the swarms of transport vehicles shielding the surface from my view. I haven’t been to the very ground of the planet, despite my ravenous curiosity to visit. For whatever reason, travel to the lowest level, the ground, is prohibited to all beside a select, mysterious few. I began to deeply contemplate my whole experience on my home planet, childhood, and dreams. I was only in my twenties when--

“Captain Gibbons. I need you back on deck,” Admiral Muche pinged me, bringing me back to reality.

“Yes, Admiral. I’m on my way now.” I sighed. We had just landed in the great naval docks and I had rushed outside to breathe the Delaran air once again to only be called back to The Legacy.

“Captain Gibbons on deck!” shouted one of the inferior officers onboard. The soldiers and pilots saluted me. Hmph. It was custom, I suppose.

“Gibbons! I think you need to hear this. You were on the emergency responding team that went to the Tribunal, correct?”

“That’s right sir, but I don’t know why that would--”

“Look at this,” Admiral Muche cut me off, showing me images of the neighboring colony of Pythria getting sucked into a black hole.

“What? Impossible! We had examined that star just a year ago! It did not give any signs of implosion!” I exclaimed.

“Exactly. This is what is getting the Science Community in a panic. I was wondering if you found anything in those ruins that could maybe act as a catalyst or something to end that star?”

“There wasn’t anything destructive in terms of weaponry of any sort,” I started to explain, recalling my experience back at Kilinar, “but it could be a possibility that an enemy civilization may have found something that could have led them to discover that kind of technology. It’s highly unlikely though, because they would have had to even understand that technology in the first place.”

“Hm. Then we’ll have no answers for the Science Community. The only thing we got to notify us was a distress signal that said ‘Alien craft. Black hole.’”

“It’s peculiar then, that they didn’t specify what craft. Does that mean we have another enemy we don’t know about? We’ve charted and mapped all of the surrounding systems up to a thousand light years from our outer colonies. There was no border disputes with Pythria as far as I know. That’s why we left a meager fleet there to defend the system.”

“Ha. So my questioning of you has only led to more questions. Well then, we better make our way to the Science Community immediately, with all of your nerd-friends.” Muche gestured dismissively towards the incoming transport. I followed him to the craft. He probably has a lot on his mind for him to lose his cool and act so erratic.

“Wait! Hold up! You can’t leave without me!” shouted Bill. He looked out of breath. He probably ran from the other side of The Legacy’s deck after he recognized me. I rolled my eyes. Bill always liked to tag along with me on-planet.

“Who is this?” asked Admiral Muche, as he was boarding the aircraft.

“Admiral, he is just some friend of mine from maintenance. We can leave him here since--” I began to say.

“Has he been to Kilinar’s ruins?” Admiral Muche interrupted me with a slight hint of interest and urgency in his voice.

“Well… yes. He piloted the transport that landed us there,” I muttered.

“Then he should come along. Our science team is already there, so we should hurry,” Admiral Muche stated. I began to protest, but Bill had already caught up to the transport and ran in before we took off. 

We arrived at the Community in a few minutes. The architecture of the center melded well with the surrounding environment of vegetation platforms and steel buildings. The greenery around the structure was in full bloom. The building itself was tall and lean, pretty much a tower of science, if you had asked me. Glass windows were pretty much the majority of the exterior, besides the steel beams maintaining the structure's integrity. This building represented the feat of engineering and architecture of the empire. It had the thinnest base for a skyscraper that it was and was the tallest building on the planet. As our shuttle transport landed near the entrance on a lower platform, an automated voice came through the telecomm.

“Welcome to the Center of the Science Community of Delara. We are pleased to have you here, Admiral Muche, Captain Gibbons, and... guest.” Bill scoffed at being only addressed to as a guest. “The Community will be meeting in the Assembly Chamber in ten minutes. The rest of the research team from Kilinar is already there. Please make your way to the assembly.” As we entered the tower, lights from the edges of the room lit up and guided us to our destination.

“I gotta go use the restroom,” Bill began, walking off into another hallway which wasn’t lit. A loud buzz came through the comm and the automated voice came up. “I’m sorry. You are not permitted beyond your path to the Assembly Chamber. There is a restroom on the way there. I shall direct you to it once you get closer.”

“Sheesh. These automatons are certainly nosy,” Bill complained. Admiral Muche raised his eyebrow at the automaton’s forbiddance to enter that hallway. I, myself, was pretty struck at the authorization we had to have in order to even step foot in this place. Once we had almost arrived, Bill was guided to the restroom via the mechanical voice and Muche and I were greeted by a guard. 

“Greetings Admiral Muche and Captain Gibbons! Please, come. The Community would like to hear your findings from the ruins,” the guard gestured towards the Assembly Chamber entrance. Here comes the interrogation process.

______________________________________________________________________________  
“You are sure of this?”

“Indeed. They are gathering in the Urulia subsector. I suspect that they are still hesitant to face any of our forces.”

“What makes you believe that?”

“They believe that we have not been able to track or find any trace of their movements. They probably think that we have lost interest in this dimension, so they are sapping all the energy that they can before drawing our attention.”

“Interesting theory, Apprentice of Silverflame, yet how do we know that they are not baiting us into a trap in Urulia? Our forces are much more timid than that of our armies of old. We would not be able to afford heavy losses.”

“That is true. They may have anticipated our gaze and are now feinting a gathering of force, but I, nor any of the Seers, have had visions concerning this.”

“You also do not have any visions concerning victory, IF we do initiate the attack.”

“You are right again, but I cannot allow more precious matter and energy to be consumed by this entropy that our enemy is. If the Councils of Arthandar will not aid me, then I will do what I can to stop them with my own means.”

“Engaging with the enemy could be a risk we cannot take! If they do not know of our awareness of them, we may be able to use it against them later! Do not act rash and--”

“Rash? You and the Councils continue to do nothing with the information I provide you! I will reactivate all functioning war factories here in this plane. We must halt their advance now, before they have the power to reopen a portal between this plane and Helinar!”


End file.
